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8797999's review
3.0
A compilation featuring Japanese detective novels, this book is a little dated nowadays but packed full of well known Japanese detective fiction authors like Seicho Matsumoto.
A very interesting collection of stories, on the whole I quite enjoyed them all barring one that was a turkey in my opinion, a vampire rather featuring blood transfusions and blowjobs. Very odd one that.
I would rate the stories individually as follows:
1. Too Much About Too Many by Eitaro Ishizawa.
A confidant of many secrets is murdered at a party but who killed him? Or was it suicide? Short and sweet read, it fell flat towards the end, I'd have liked more for the resolution and felt the end let it down. 3/5"
2. The Cooperative Defendant by Seicho Matsumoto.
A very clever short story, I enjoyed this one and I do enjoy the authors work that I have read previously. 3.5/5"
3. A Letter From the Dead by Tohru Miyoshi.
A good twist in this one, not a favourite so far but enjoyable nonetheless." 3/5
4. Devil of A Boy by Seiichi Morimura.
I enjoyed it. I saw the end coming before the climactic event." 3/5
5. Cry From The Cliff by Shizuko Natsuki.
I quite enjoyed this, I saw the guilty party from a mile off. Short but sweet as they say. 3.5/5"
6. The Kindly Blackmailer by Kyotaro Nishimura.
Another enjoyable read and a twist at the end, though not a twist if you pay attention to the title and dialogue. 3.5/5
7. No Proof by Yoh Sano.
Very interesting, a monkey mask at the centre and how is the crime interpreted. I cant decide on the consequence myself. 3/5
8. Invitation From The Sea by Saho Sasazawa.
Superb short story, my favourite of the bunch so far. 5 strangers invited to an expensive hotel to root out a murderer. 4.5/5
9. Facial Restoration by Tadao Sohno.
This one was ok, a bit odd and supernatural but decent. Could have done without the sex scene though. 3/5
10. The Vampire by Masako Togawa.
Very odd and didnt enjoy this one at all. All blood transfusions with a blowjob thrown in for good measure 1.5/5
11. Write In, Rub Out by Takao Tsuchiya.
Not too bad this one, one of the weaker ones into he collection. 3/5
12. Perfectly Lovely Ladies by Yasutaka Tsutsui.
Interesting a gang of lady thieves go about their business of being female Robin Hoods. Decent but nothing special 3/5"
Based on this my rating would be 3.15/5 but I would say this is a solid 3.5/5 book, some good stories and authors I would love to read more of. Sadly I doubt that beyond Seicho Matsumoto and Masako Togawa there is much available from these authors in English, which is a shame.
3.5/5 rounded down.
A very interesting collection of stories, on the whole I quite enjoyed them all barring one that was a turkey in my opinion, a vampire rather featuring blood transfusions and blowjobs. Very odd one that.
I would rate the stories individually as follows:
1. Too Much About Too Many by Eitaro Ishizawa.
A confidant of many secrets is murdered at a party but who killed him? Or was it suicide? Short and sweet read, it fell flat towards the end, I'd have liked more for the resolution and felt the end let it down. 3/5"
2. The Cooperative Defendant by Seicho Matsumoto.
A very clever short story, I enjoyed this one and I do enjoy the authors work that I have read previously. 3.5/5"
3. A Letter From the Dead by Tohru Miyoshi.
A good twist in this one, not a favourite so far but enjoyable nonetheless." 3/5
4. Devil of A Boy by Seiichi Morimura.
I enjoyed it. I saw the end coming before the climactic event." 3/5
5. Cry From The Cliff by Shizuko Natsuki.
I quite enjoyed this, I saw the guilty party from a mile off. Short but sweet as they say. 3.5/5"
6. The Kindly Blackmailer by Kyotaro Nishimura.
Another enjoyable read and a twist at the end, though not a twist if you pay attention to the title and dialogue. 3.5/5
7. No Proof by Yoh Sano.
Very interesting, a monkey mask at the centre and how is the crime interpreted. I cant decide on the consequence myself. 3/5
8. Invitation From The Sea by Saho Sasazawa.
Superb short story, my favourite of the bunch so far. 5 strangers invited to an expensive hotel to root out a murderer. 4.5/5
9. Facial Restoration by Tadao Sohno.
This one was ok, a bit odd and supernatural but decent. Could have done without the sex scene though. 3/5
10. The Vampire by Masako Togawa.
Very odd and didnt enjoy this one at all. All blood transfusions with a blowjob thrown in for good measure 1.5/5
11. Write In, Rub Out by Takao Tsuchiya.
Not too bad this one, one of the weaker ones into he collection. 3/5
12. Perfectly Lovely Ladies by Yasutaka Tsutsui.
Interesting a gang of lady thieves go about their business of being female Robin Hoods. Decent but nothing special 3/5"
Based on this my rating would be 3.15/5 but I would say this is a solid 3.5/5 book, some good stories and authors I would love to read more of. Sadly I doubt that beyond Seicho Matsumoto and Masako Togawa there is much available from these authors in English, which is a shame.
3.5/5 rounded down.
meeners's review
2.0
i feel like this book just randomly materialized on my bookshelves one day, because i have no memory of buying or borrowing it, but i must have gotten it at a used bookstore somewhere, sometime, because there's a handwritten inscription on the title page which i have come to rather adore:
Tokyo, Aug 28, 1985
Some good stories in here, Mommy, though at times the translation's a bit clunky. The only story I'd give a pass on is "The Vampire"; it's on the revolting side. But the other stories in this collection more than make up for it, particularly "Perfectly Lovely Ladies."
Love,
[illegible signature]
i agree with this mystery reader about the translating and "the vampire," but i found the majority of the stories more-or-less forgettable (except for "perfectly lovely ladies," which is indeed quite wonderful). more memorable, but also in a revolting kind of way, is the orientalist trash that constitutes the book blurb (worst sentence: "Here we have crimes provoked by shame or pride, by an avenging or sacrificial spirit, by fierce loyalty or fear or betrayal - exactly those states of mind that have dominated and marked the Japanese psyche since the days of the samurai" - which is not only drivel but also wildly off the mark in accurately reflecting the actual contents of the collection).
Tokyo, Aug 28, 1985
Some good stories in here, Mommy, though at times the translation's a bit clunky. The only story I'd give a pass on is "The Vampire"; it's on the revolting side. But the other stories in this collection more than make up for it, particularly "Perfectly Lovely Ladies."
Love,
[illegible signature]
i agree with this mystery reader about the translating and "the vampire," but i found the majority of the stories more-or-less forgettable (except for "perfectly lovely ladies," which is indeed quite wonderful). more memorable, but also in a revolting kind of way, is the orientalist trash that constitutes the book blurb (worst sentence: "Here we have crimes provoked by shame or pride, by an avenging or sacrificial spirit, by fierce loyalty or fear or betrayal - exactly those states of mind that have dominated and marked the Japanese psyche since the days of the samurai" - which is not only drivel but also wildly off the mark in accurately reflecting the actual contents of the collection).
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